This invention relates to facsimile transceivers capable of transmitting information-bearing signals representing the dark-light variations on a document located at the transceiver and converting information-bearing signals to marks or images on a copy medium located at the transceiver so as to form a copy which is a responsible facsimile of a remotely located document.
Most facsimile transceivers in commercial use at the present time are supplied with document or copy medium sheets by hand. In other words, an operator takes an individual sheet of paper, whether a document or a blank piece of copy medium, and places that sheet on or in the scanning means of the transceiver, typically a drum having a clamp for clamping one edge of the sheet.
In facsimile transceivers which are not supplied with document or copy medium sheets by hand but rather are unattended at least to some degree, a variety of techniques are utilitized to feed the documents and copy media to the scanning means. One such technique involves the use of a roll of copy media which is supplied to the scanning means for purposes of receiving facsimile signals and recording those received facsimile signals on the copy media. In the Xerox 410 facsimile transceiver, the document and copy media sheets are supplied from a common storage area. When the transceiver is to operate in a receiving mode, copy medium sheets are loaded into the storage area. When the transceiver is to operate in a transmitting mode, the copy medium must be removed and documents are loaded into the same storage area.
In general, it is considered preferable to provide unattended sheet feeding or copy medium rather then roll feeding so as to eliminate the necessity of cutting the roll at the appropriate place to achieve the desired sheet. Sheet feeding from a stack is also desirable to avoid curling of the copy medium. However, the sheet feeding from a stack requires a more elaborate mechanism to assure reliability.
Where common sheet storage areas are utilized for both documents and copy medium, it is not possible for a transceiver to operate in a completely unattended mode since it is necessary for the operator to remove sheets of one type and substitute sheets of another type when changing from one mode to another, i.e., a transmitting mode to a receiving mode. This is undesirable where a completely unattended mode of operation is required.